I watched the 4 part videos of Dr. Oz with Dr. Glenn Gaesser as his guest and I was so annoyed that typing couldn’t do it justice – so I took out my frustrations on my Flip Camera.
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Dances With Fat 
Awesome video. I stay away from Dr. Oz and the other “The Doctors” show. It seems like every other episode is about how being fat is going TO KILL YOU! KILL YOU ALL! Or another exciting, unexpected way that you might die!
His daughter is on the ABC show “The Chew”. I learned from her that her parents never allowed her eat hot dogs. NOT EVER. She is so policing (of herself) on that show, it makes me wonder if she enjoys eating of if it makes her anxious and what that must’ve been like growing up.
Exactly! She was completely dismissive of all these foods Mario Batali can’t live without – you know how red he is, I thought he was going to have a stroke – and she blithely showed no interest at all in learning. Jeez, one all-meat hot dog won’t kill you – what a limiting, fearful way to live. And she’s on a food show. I’m sure her name had nothing to do with it.
That “The Doctors” show makes me want to put my fist through the TV. I think Jillian Michaels is what does it. I can tolerate Dr. Oz when he gets off the subject of weight–though I loved an ep earlier this season, because it featured a 700+ pound woman who was happy with herself, loved her body, enjoyed being active and having a full life, and turned down Oz’s offer of a weight loss regiment. Jillian Michaels has this weird energy that makes me think she’s going to beat me with a tire. At least Dr. Oz doesn’t make me feel the need to cower in the corner whilst dialing 911. (Anyway, I can punch holes in his rhetoric, whereas I’m pretty sure I’d need help chewing my arm off to get away from Jillian.)
You are policing and food moralizing and while you’re allowed to believe whatever you want about any food and make whatever choices you want for your body, this comment isn’t appropriate for this blog.
~Ragen
But… but everyone knows Truthiness is the heart of medical research!
This ep pissed me off, too, and for the exact reasons you said. I watch Dr. Oz a few times a week, but mostly so I can yell at and talk back to a doctor without a risk of being denied treatment. I’ve pretty much taken to deleting his weight loss-focused shows, though (with the exception of Dr. Gaesser’s one, and I totally want to give Dr. G a hug). If I watch the weight loss ones, I just get more and more pissed off. Not only is Dr. Oz promoting the culture of Almighty Thinness, he promotes self-hatred as a reasonable way of life. (The beauty eps he does fall into this category, too.)
Today, for instance, he did one of his “embarrassing question” eps. A few were actually health-related, but a large number involved things like getting rid of cellulite and other harmless cosmetic conditions. I spent years upon years thinking that cellulite and flabby arms made me subhuman, and it was a horrible way to live. His tendency to focus on “fixing” people rather than encouraging them to love themselves, warts and all, perpetuates the notion that self-improvement centers only on body fat and blemishes. Yeah, it can be hard to learn to love something that your entire culture has deemed unfit. Once you can do it, though, you feel better about yourself and can focus better on what you actively like about yourself, whether physically, intellectually, or emotionally.
Frankly, I’d love to meet Dr. Oz so I can (politely and reasonably) explain all of this to him. I don’t know if he’ll listen, but if it could get him to stop drinking the diet industry Kool-Aid for even a fraction of a second, it might lead to him doing proper research.
It’s really a shame that he’s so dedicated to Truthiness, because he does do some real good (like promoting and attending free health fairs, educating his audience about whole foods, and promoting the health benefits of having animals to care for and love). If he could just open his mind enough to realize that different body types are normal and natural, he could go a long way toward weakening the diet industry’s hold on Americans, especially American women.
Oh, off topic, but I mentioned you to my physical therapist this afternoon and told her about the picture of you balancing perfectly on one leg and holding the other at the same level as your head. She was overjoyed to hear about anyone in that kind of physical condition, especially someone in the 280-290 range. 🙂 (I love my physical therapy clinic, btw. They encourage all their patients to take their recovery and fitness into their own hands, which, IMO, is in the same general range as HAES: it encourages independence and accurate education, as well as self-confidence, and they focus on what’s right for You rather than what’s right for Everybody. They make sure to praise genuine effort, too, and never, ever say things like, “Well, you did okay, but you only managed seven reps instead of 10.” It’s easily the best PT clinic I’ve ever attended.)
Ack, sorry this got so long. Insomnia hit, and it always makes me chatty.
Thank you for sharing this. Do you know when the entire show will be airing?
Sorry, I don’t know…
~Ragen
It ran this past Monday. Check your local NBC affiliate–mine re-runs episodes at 1:30 in the morning, and it’s usually offset by a week. You might be able to catch it tomorrow night.
Not having seen the episode (I avoid all things daytime tv like the plague… actually, I avoid almost all live tv because of all the diet commercials making me decidedly stabby) I’m curious how many steps were expected to be run up/down by the magically gained 80lbs in 5 seconds person?
Because I’m not even very fit or athletic, and I can run up and down stairs fairly easily, probably several times in a row if needed. Or I could do what normal people do, and just walk up and down stairs all day if needed (because seriously, unless you’re using it as part of a workout who RUNS up and down stairs?).
I hate the whole fat suit stunt… I mean, it utterly defies logic. Even healthist logic. What do you do when you want your leg muscles to get bigger and stronger? You repeatedly make them carry or push increasing amounts of weight until you reach the top amount of weight you want them to carry or push, and then you keep on carrying or pushing that amount of weight until your muscles become strong enough that they don’t notice it any more. Well guess what… my leg muscles are pretty well accustomed to carrying around 250lbs, considering they’ve been doing it for nearly 20 years now.
I imagine if you made that guy carry around his extra 80lbs, day and night, for 20 years… his muscles would be pretty well adjusted also. As would his sense of balance etc. And then, if you took that weight off… he would become unbalanced again because the human body is not a machine that can adjust to massive changes like that in one second!
… who RUNS up and down stairs?
I do, at work. My classroom is on the first floor; the bathroom is on the second. There are 5 minutes in a passing period.
So sometimes I go zoom, pee, zoom! 😛
LOL… good point heh. Ok, who runs up and down stairs for no reason?
*insert wild and adoring applause here* Whoo hoo! I refuse to watch Dr. Oz on the grounds that it makes my blood pressure rise to levels that would make an ER doctor cringe. Unfortunately it comes on right before our 4 o’clock local news, which I do watch, so I sometimes catch the tail end after the gibbon gets off the bus.
Thank you so much for posting this! Not only did we get the snark we love, we got it in vocal form (always fun!) and we got to see your beautiful face at the same time! So much love going on over here and I haven’t even finished my first cup of coffee yet. 😀
Raegan,
I really enjoy you via video. I hope you’ll do more posts this way. I use your site to help my students understand critical thinking. thanks for your work!
Hi Julie,
This comment made my day – one of my favorite things is when people use my blog as a tool with students. I think I will be doing more video blogs, I had fun with this one! Thanks!
~Ragen
I just clicked to watch it myself, and the add was for weight watchers. SIGH…
Sorry, that was my fault – somehow I clicked to monetize. The problem is fixed now.
~Ragen
I watched the clips and then accidentally started reading the comments. I think you summed it up well.
Great post! I was cautiously optimistic when I watched the first part of the Dr. Oz video and became increasingly downtrodden the more Dr. Oz illogically refuted anything that Dr. Gaesser said. Clearly Dr. G is an expert, and isn’t afraid to cite his sources (imagine a scientist being up front with his research?????) and Dr. Oz is just so deep in the pile of diet b.s. that he can’t even see his guest objectively. However, that being said, I’m really glad that he at least had him as a guest on his show, and kept the videos on his website, so maybe at least a few people will give Dr. G’s statements a second thought without blindly following the Tao of Oz. And hopefully some of them will see this post! It was cool to watch/hear you blogging for a change, too!
I can’t stand Dr. Oz. Primarily because my mother worships at his altar and then he spews his sizist nonsense back at me constantly. I’m torn between wanting to see this episode so I can laugh at the nonsense and not wanting to so I can keep my blood pressure at its normal rate.
Loved being able to watch & listen to you! I vote for more vlogs in the future! =)
I should never post this early. That should read “…and then she spews…”
Pange, I think your mother and my mother are the same person as she does the exact same thing.
I had to take breaks in between videos because my blood pressure was getting so high!
BRAVA!!!! Best post I’ve seen anywhere in a long time. I get SO tired of the “gurus” out there who have no kind of expertise to back up their “Truthiness,” a great word, by the way, and who are so set in their own mindsets they cannot see REAL truth when it comes gift-wrapped and is set right under their noses. I loathe celebrity “doctors” and have stopped watching all this garbage. I loathe Oprah – heresy, I know – and all her promotion of this “fixit” mentality. LET PEOPLE BE THEMSELVES!! I am so tired of being told how I should be dissatisfied with everything about myself from the whiteness of my teeth to the fat on my ass. It’s just crazy.
Our society is no different than Victorian society which lauded women who laced themselves into corsets till they passed out. It’s misogynistic, disgusting, and stunningly stupid.
Well. Guess I had a little anger in me, eh?
At least Dr. Oz has a link on the page allowing readers to peruse a bit of Dr. Gaesser’s book and to purchase it!
It’s really nice to watch a video of you – great idea.
I have noticed that a lot of the doctors I have consulted with have spouted illogical arguments and don’t even seem to realise it. I guess that when one has “power” (as doctors seem to do or think they do), the need to back one’s arguments up in a logical and academic way is no longer obligatory.
*standing ovation!* Sadly, the only people who are likely to have seen this show for what it was are the people who saw your video. Too many people listen to Dr. Oz and take his word as medical gospel, and that sucks. They will miss the point. Thank you for opening our eyes so that we can open the eyes of others.
Ragen, your awesomeness knows no bounds!! (BTW, I enjoyed the video and being able to hear your voice!)
I loved your rant about Dr. Oz’s “sample size” as a heart surgeon. In my day job, I work as a speech pathologist. My work settings are nursing homes and assisted livings. The majority of my clients suffer from dementia and that is the MAIN reason why I work with them. I almost never work with anyone whose cognition is intact. Because I have been around this very specific population for over 10 years, it is easy for me to be lulled into the false belief that ALL old people get dementia and ALL old people need to live in adult care facilities (despite the fact that it is something like only 15% of the elderly population that these things happen to). I have to constantly remind myself that what I see everyday ISN’T the reality for most elders (cue Betty White and my ninety year old friend on Facebook) and I can’t act like it is (which would mean treating all old people that I meet on the street as though they are cognitively impaired. Not cool.).
When I was in school they warned us about this phenomenon, only with children. They told us that if we worked with children with disabilities, our experience would become skewed that outside of our work settings we would be “in awe” of children functioning normally, having forgotten what “real” normal is and our perceived normal due to interactions with a very specific population.
Sounds like Dr. Oz missed this part of class. Or maybe they only mention it in speech therapy school, not heart surgeon school. 😉
~ManDee
http://www.chubbygirlcomics.com
This is really hard! Whoever we’re around automatically becomes our sample. I try to look at data whenever possible to overcome the idea that the world exists as I see it, but it’s the stuff I take too for granted to ever try to confirm that’s probably the most wrong.
Hi ManDee,
Thank you so much, I’m really glad that you liked the video. I also appreciate that you told your story – it’s a beautiful example of what can happen and how we need to be diligent about assuming that what we see around us is representative of everything that we don’t see.
~Ragen
RaegeN, you are so beautiful. It was really a treat to see you speak! Loved the video response. And eat well and exercise!? That’s blasphemous! Don’t you know that doesn’t sell!? Sigh
Bless you, honey. At one time Dr. Oz apparently was a great surgeon. He probably thinks he is now helping people with his show, but in reality it is a horrible exercise in vanity and hubris. He stopped being a real doctor years ago, as soon as he drank the Celebrity Kool-Aid.
BTW there is a funny video of chef Mario Batali barely containing his contempt for the Oz daughter on their cooking show. I guess they serve Celebrity Kool-Aid at dinner in th Oz house – and it makes you immune from having to listen to wiser, more experienced experts!
Perfectly expressed: “horrible exercise in vanity and hubris” , that is Dr. Oz. Yecch.
This post is perfect and you are so spot on. I wish I could show this to my mother because she loves Dr. Oz, I’m convinced she thinks he’s the second coming of Jesus but she’s so far along in her life now and stubborn in her ways to listen to reason, so alas she’s a lost cause.
I love your blog.
NO, my sound card is broken and I can’t listen – will have to find someone with a working computer, because I just know how awesome this will be, and I can’t wait to hear someone pick Dr Oz to pieces because just the sound of his name sends my blood pressure up and makes me want to yell at someone!
I watched the Dr Oz segment and found it dreary and frustrating. Dr Glaesser was saying some very interesting things. I was interested to hear his thoughts on carbohydrates, for example – I’m tired of the food Nazis telling me that my bowl of oatmeal in the morning is poison, because grains are bad, when I know I feel better for eating it.
The science is fascinating. The politics are not just depressing, but boring.
Dr Oz comes across as a huckster.
Grains are super good for you… idk why so many people I know try to go with out. Your body needs carbs, and plus oatmeal has a lot of fiber in it, which probably makes you feel great!
I’ve removed most grains from my diet because I can’t digest them, and I’m gluten sensitive. It’s what’s right for me–I feel SO MUCH BETTER getting my carbs from other sources–but I don’t push the issue on someone else. Grains are okay for me a couple of times a week, and if someone is sweet enough to cook me my fussy pescetarian dinner with a side of rice, I’ll eat it and love it. 🙂 I just have to be careful that I don’t get anything that contains gluten (including oats that haven’t been GF certified).
Keep in mind that I’m a firm believer in no one diet being right for everyone. I’ve got friends who get anemic or just plain lethargic if they don’t eat meat every day, and I’ve got friends who flourish on a vegan diet. (I used to do that, and I may go back one day, but my body has changed with age and I try to give it what it needs.) I do better without grains, but most of my friends would just get sick if they avoided them. Different strokes, all that good stuff. (Though as someone raised Southern, with a mom from Missouri and a dad from Louisiana, I’ve been craving grits lately like nobody’s business. 😉 )
I thought I’d add this in: my non-fat boyfriend listened to the videos and said “who gives a f*** what some doctor thinks. I care what the scientists think”.
♥ I think I’ve developed a little crush on your boyfriend. 🙂
That is awesome, but sadly many of the scientists are paid for by the weight loss industry. Just like – I have no doubt – Dr Oz is.
I always knew Oz was a quack.
Just to give you something else to be pissed about, I wonder if you know, 2 out of 3 of the ads attached to this video are for weight loss products?
I just realized that it had ads- I screwed up when I posted it. It’s corrected now, sorry 😦
~Ragen
You are awesome. Thanks for sharing this.
THANK YOU for this blog but specifically for this video/entry. I never particularly cared for Dr. Oz however this episode made my blood boil. You are a wonderful advocate of HEAS and you said everything I was thinking while watching the “Dr.” Oz show.
I didn’t finish reading the comments, but am I the only one that noticed that Dr. O was subtly making Dr. Gaesser look like the bad guy? It wasn’t even just how he spoke (though that was the majority of it). The signs behind them: Dr. O gets black lettering on a white background (“Look! I’m the good guy!!!”) and Dr. G. gets white on a black background (“ooo, this guy is BAD….”). Even the “stunts” he had set up seemed to be there solely to make Dr. G. seem stupid (and maybe the audience too because they must have everything explained in a simple way..what the heck was the point of the balloon thing??). And, of course, just misrepresenting everything Dr. G. said by boiling it down into a sound byte that made it sound scary.
I think I need to start watching Dr. Oz so I can gain some ammunition. He also has a tendency to discuss naturopathic medicine techniques like he made them up and refuses to acknowledge Naturopathic Doctors (who have as much or more education than he does) as physicians…while stealing our stuff. Gotta get some ammo.
end rant
I don’t think that it was subtle, I wish I had covered it in the video but he also consistently mischaracterized Dr. Glaesser’s argument. Dr. G was a trooper about it though, he stayed calm and clearly stated his point though. I mean – how many of his diet books does this dude need to sell?
~Ragen
Oz looks like a gigantic buffoon who knows nothing about science. You’re exactly right, he sites no sensical research. Love the way you broke it down, thanks for making a video and I’d love to see more of them!
Awesome post!
There’s not a real lot I can say that hasn’t already been said, but I think one of the things that annoys me most here is the willful ignorance. It’s not bad if a person genuinely isn’t aware of new research (yet, hopefully), but it really pisses me off when people who are supposed to be intelligent, or have some level expertise as part of their job don’t bother with anything that might contradict them. God forbid it might cause a bout of self-reflection or (gasp!) learning. Especially when it’s old information that’s been proven again, and again, and again. And is obvious. If your head isn’t lodged in either your own arse or the arse of a sponsor.
Hello 🙂 I’ve recently discovered your blog and I think it’s fabulous! Your blog post on Dr Oz made me laugh SO much! I don’t watch him, I’m in Australia and I think his show is on cable here but we don’t have it at home. Oh dear, I think I need to track down some of his episodes for a laugh, he sounds nutty! I cannot believe a heart surgeon saw nothing odd about the statement that every person he sees with heart plaque is obese. Perfect sense Dr Oz, lol!
Hi, Welcome to the blog! I think not getting Dr. Oz on your television may be a really good thing – I watched most of that episode with my jaw on the floor.
~Ragen
It’s true. I don’t get Dr. Oz on my TV — mostly because I don’t turn on my TV to Dr. Oz’s show — and my life is definitely better for it.
What’s worse is that isn’t even what he said. It was every obese person he does surgery on has heart plaque. I’m guessing all the thin people he does surgery on do too.
And every ad surrounding the video clips was for Weight Watchers!
I didn’t even know that there were ads – I screwed up when I posted it, sorry 😦 It’s corrected now. Thanks for letting me know.
~Ragen
Do you need another “oh, awesome post and video” – why not? Excellent, you are fabulous and I am inspired and encouraged by your every post.
Oz is just another bought and paid for celebra-crook who takes the money and spews the BS, ridicules anyone who doesn’t agree and looks like an ass. I don’t watch him or anyone like him because, like others posting here, it makes my blood pressure go up!
Love to see more videos and will keep reading – it’s good for my blood pressure!
I’m so glad that you like it! I’ll definitely do more video posts and do my best to help everyone’s blood pressure.
~Ragen
This is so common for Drs. I read somewhere a survey was done of Drs and some incredibly high number were found to give medical advice based on their own opinions rather than the latest research. I’ve found this to be very true with regards to pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, child development and growth.
My 5 year old niece refused to eat her dinner the other night because she doesnt wanna get fat – then 30mins later my Mum found her huddled over her plate wolfing her meal down – obviously hungry. Yep. 5 years old.
I am amazed at how articulate your annoyed rant was! Amazing job at pointing out all the errors and ridiculousness. A discussion of the validity of citations, and the fact that “popular knowledge” might not actually be true is very telling. It’s always best to confirm ones viewpoint with literature, but I find it amazing how few people actually do this.
That was a great take-down, and it was nice to see your face!
Sorry, Dr. Oz really called Dr. Gaesser irresponsible? The same Dr. Oz who promoted the incredibly dangerous 500-calorie-a-day HCG on his show? Yeah, THIS HCG diet. Face, meet palm. *smack*
If Dr. Oz really wants to help people get healthy, he should get his ass off TV and back in the operating room and stop posing as an expert on everything. He is clearly out of his depth when discussing obesity. Or he could spend a little time talking to Dr.Sharma so he won’t make a complete fool of himself next time he tries to discuss obesity.
Brava! This post is awesome!
I’m not sure of y’all, but I know in my area, Dr. Oz’s commercial breaks are filled with adverts. for ‘Herbal Magic’, ‘Weight Watchers’, dieting clinics and the like.
Does anyone else see a connection here? Is true scientific research influencing Dr. Oz’s opinions? or is it the Almighty Dollar?
Jussayin’.
I’ve been reading your blog for quite awhile, but I’m finally commenting just to tell you I loved seeing you on video! You’re really hilarious and inspiring. You should do this more often!
Thanks Robyn, I’ll definitely do more videos. It was really fun!
~Ragen
I can’t decide if you’re more brilliant or beautiful. Spot on!
Anyone who works with doctors knows how narcissistic and ridiculous many of them are. The unfortunate thing about medicine is that the social elevation of doctors makes for a lot of people who become doctors because they want to be looked up to or to exercise authority over others instead of attracting people who enjoy the actual work of being a doctor, such as reviewing research journals regularly.
To be fair to doctors as a group, Dr. Oz’s problems stem mainly from the fact that his main job is now being a talk show host/media figure instead of a doctor. He’s let himself go far beyond the limits of his competence (and his better judgement, IMHO.) I don’t like Dr. Oz anyway because he gives a lot of open airtime to dodgy ‘alternative medicine’ promoters and never asks any tough questions. At least this time his guest was someone who has some actual scientific knowledge and was willing to challenge Oz’s biases.
I don’t think that is true at all. The mistreatment of fat people by doctors is extensively documented on this website and many other places. Fat people are routinely told to lose weight when they have no other risk factors, or are told to lose weight for symptoms that have no relationship with weight. Doctor oz is saying exactly what most doctors say about weight loss. Doctors, as a group, aren’t interested in the evidence because of anti-fat bias in society. Doctors doing a crappy job due to social bias isn’t anything new, it just so happens that doctors are usually made up of the most privileged parts of society and have such authority that they aren’t challenged on their privilege. You can use the example of “twilight birth” or the forced sterilization of women of color as past examples of doctors as a whole being miseducated on topics that affect non-privileged people. There are still problems today where nonwhite and female patients are less likely to make it onto organ donor waiting lists, based on the subjective judgment on doctors who harbor unexamined bias against these groups. The profession attracts a lot of narcissistic people, that is for sure.
Awesome!!! I totally agree with your feelings toward oz. I hate him! He did the real age test w/his stupid audience…he came up w/40yrs old. PLEASE! how much botox does he get or face lifts. He looks alot older than 50 if you look close! He is all about himself, and promoting his hype. HOW HE TALKS AND SENSATIONALIZES EVERY STUPID WORD THAT COMES OUT OF HIS MOUTH ! OMG I HATE HIM! and his very dumb daughter TOO, WHY IS SHE ON THAT CHEW? Never heard of so many basic things in cooking, she only got the job because of her father. urgh some people fall for all that. I love the episode where the audience comes to show in bathing suits OMG gross. and the audience is screaming with excitement bouncing up&down in the fat glory. how embrassing and what exploting oz show is doing for those overweight people so they can get ratings. BAD VERY BAD. some people are so stupid when it comes to celebrity then don’t see what is really going on.